OMG SIL,I should not have looked at those pics:sad:
Here I was ,before all this came about,thinking THS was a good place.the only thing I did not like was the cat-free-for-all they had a few times each year
I hope they all have to serve jailtime,the vet lose his license etc...how could any vet treat animals this way

OMG that makes me sick. I contributed monthly donations to the THS for many years - I stopped a while back when this stuff started coming out.
These people should be put in a cage and forced to lay in their own excrement, totally ignored and not medically treated. They wouldn't last a day and how long did some of these innocents suffer?

__________________
No Heaven can be Heaven if my cats are not there to welcome me

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 26, 2009) - The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) executed search warrants for the headquarters of the Toronto Humane Society (THS) at 11 River Street, Toronto, Ontario, and one private residence. The warrants were issued in an ongoing investigation into animal cruelty at the THS. Members of the Toronto Police Service provided assistance.

Five people named in the search warrants are being arrested and charged with criminal offences based on the contents in the search warrants, which were executed after 3 p.m.:

Tim Trow, THS President, will be charged with Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence (2 counts), Cruelty to Animals (2 counts), and Obstruction of a Peace Officer (3 counts).
Gary McCracken, THS General Manager, will be charged with Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence (2 counts), Cruelty to Animals, and Obstruction of a Peace Officer (3 counts).
Dr. Steve Sheridan, THS Head Veterinarian, will be charged with Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence and Cruelty to Animals.
Andy Bechtel will be charged with Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence (2 counts), Cruelty to Animals, and Obstruction of a Peace Officer (3 counts).
Romeo Bernadino will be charged with Conspiracy to Commit and Indictable Offence (2 counts), Cruelty to Animals, and Obstruction of a Peace Officer (3 counts).
All of the above, as well as the THS Board of Directors, are also being charged with five counts of animal cruelty, a provincial offence under the Ontario SPCA Act
The charges stem from an investigation that was launched in early 2009 in response to allegations of animal cruelty. The OSPCA conducted the investigation with the help of private investigators from The Investigators Group under the authority of the Ontario SPCA Act, 2009. Under the Act, the OSPCA is responsible for enforcing animal cruelty statutes in Ontario. It is also responsible for overseeing animal welfare shelters such as local humane societies.

"This is a difficult day for the Ontario SPCA and the Toronto Humane Society, but it is necessary to protect the lives of animals," said OSPCA Chief Executive Officer Kate MacDonald. "We realize that the THS is capable of providing an important public service, but it could not fulfill its responsibilities until this action was taken.

"Our first priority is the safety of the animals currently in the THS facility. Our team of veterinarians will assess their health and take appropriate actions. We believe the THS can become an important animal welfare facility again in the near future with effective and responsible management," Ms. MacDonald added.

A media availability will be held in front of the Toronto Humane Society after the search warrants have been executed.

There was a clip about this on BT this morning. An OSPCA investigator said the first dog they saw when they did the inspection was in an office, crated with no water. I guess things went downhill from there. :sad: The President was talking on camera and said he had never abused an animal, would never even think of it. I guess his definition of abuse is different from ours.

It's getting pretty bad when you can't tell the bad guys from the good guys.

There was a clip about this on BT this morning. An OSPCA investigator said the first dog they saw when they did the inspection was in an office, crated with no water.

That would be Bandit the PBT that was ordered pts in 2003, Trow fought for him and he has been kept in his office since then....not having available water 24/7 doesn't really mean too much...he could have had a drink 10 mins before....from what I understand he was loose in Trow's office when the Police went yesterday and was consequently pepper sprayed by them :sad:

:sad::sad: Just sad when numbers become more important than the welfare of the animals.

I agree. An effective way (which the SPCA's do here) is work with the rescues. This way we are able to help with animals that are special needs, old, behavioural problems or just because of the overflow. It's a win-win situation and everyone is happy.

I'm going to assume that because of the raid Bandit will now get the death sentence :sad:
I'm also going to assume that he was pepper sprayed because of what he is and not who he is.

I seen some of the pictures on the news last night, a kitten with a fractured skull, a cat with oozing wounds and so on and so forth. Just heartbreaking, and I hope those arrested are never allowed to work with animals again.

Ontario has it all wrong, don't ban pitbulls, ban all the ppl that inflict pain and suffering upon helpless animals, afterall they have committed more offenses than the Pitbulls of Ontario.

I volunteer at the Nevada SPCA. When you get there in the mornings, it's a bit haywire. We have a room for quarantined kittens that have ringworm, I think. I usually offer to clean those cages because I get the feeling the other volunteers (if they have any others that day) don't really want to touch the sick kitties.

It's a mess when I get in there. Being kittens and rambunctious, they knock over their food and water, and since they are little sick guys, they've usually thrown up or missed the litter box. It is a little scary to see at first. If I didn't know that at the end of the day before they got another round of fresh water, food, and new litter I would have thought they were being neglected. If these pictures were taken first thing in the morning, it's expected for some of the animals to be out of water (should still be a bowl in the cage), or have gone potty in the night. I know the raid happened at 3pm, but when were the pictures taken.

I did notice in the article the head dude said the dogs get 3 walks a day. I would love to know how many volunteers they have and how many dogs they are caring for. At my shelter, we are running at capacity and really don't have enough volunteers to do that. The dogs that have their own run are lucky to get a walk twice a week. We just don't have the manpower.

I don't know what to make of the animals dying overnight or the sick ones we saw, but I do know that sometimes the dogs go in their runs because they just haven't been out (not enough staff). I believe this guy is full of it because he tried to say they get 3 walks a day. It's damn near impossible. In a shelter environment, you also have illness. It just kind of happens. Pretty much all of the cats at my shelter sneeze more than I would like, but other than meds and getting adopted into a less crowded place, there isn't much that can be done.

Honestly, if you walk into my house first thing in the morning, it'll freak you out sometimes. We're back to crate training because the pooches would potty everywhere at night (grrr....), shred the couches, and the litter boxes are biohazard until I get out of bed.

I honestly just don't know what to think. I don't believe the head dude is telling the total truth. How could he? He's in trouble, so he's going to try to say things are better than they were. But on the other hand, if things were so bad, how is it that the volunteers and the visitors haven't brought this to light yet?

Four animals inside the Toronto Humane Society's shelter in the east end of the city had to be euthanized after animal cruelty charges were laid against the president and the board of directors at the facility.

A puppy, two cats and a raccoon were euthanized overnight Thursday, said Alison Cross of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or OSPCA.

The OSPCA alleges dozens of animals were neglected at the Toronto shelter, including dozens left to die in their cages without proper care and nutrition.

The River Street shelter is now closed and under the jurisdiction of the OSPCA.

Toronto Humane Society (THS) staff are barred from entering the building as the Toronto Police and the OSPCA investigate the conditions at the facility.

In a further development, prior to a media tour of the shelter on Friday afternoon, OSPCA investigator Kevin Strooband told reporters his staff had found a dead cat caught in a trap inside the building.

He described the device as a live trap, meant to catch animals to transport them for humane purposes.

"This is pretty deliberate," Strooband told reporters. "Somebody set that trap and knew it was up there. But it wasn't checked until we received some information just now saying that there might be one up there."

Earlier Friday, Ian McConachie, a THS spokesman, was arrested as he tried to retrieve documents from the office. He was briefly detained before being released without a charge.

Shelter to open Tuesday

Around 1,100 animals are still inside and under the care of veterinarians, and will be put up for adoption Tuesday when the shelter reopens, the OSPCA said.

Five senior officials have been arrested and charged with animal cruelty after police conducted a Thursday afternoon raid:

- President Tim Trow.

- General manager Gary McCracken.

- Head veterinarian, Dr. Steve Sheridan.

- Supervisor Andy Bechtel.

- Manager Romeo Bernadino.

Charges against Trow, McCracken, Bechtel and Bernadino also include obstruction of a peace officer.

Members of the society's board of directors were also charged with five counts of animal cruelty, a provincial offence under the Ontario SPCA Act.

A Toronto Humane Society spokesperson called the OSPCA's actions disgusting and politically motivated. There has been a long-running feud between the two animal-care organizations, he said.

Euthanasia policy under fire

OSPCA lawyer Christopher Avery alleges the Toronto society is reluctant to euthanize sick or dying animals, and blames management for dictating euthanasia policy without taking the animals' best interests into account.

"What Mr. Trow did is he instituted a policy where the veterinarians, contrary to the regulations and laws that relate to veterinary medicine, aren't able to make the final decision with respect to their patients' medical care," Avery told CBC News.

"Euthanasia can only be approved by management, and management seemed more concerned with their euthanasia statistics because they use them for fundraising purposes as opposed to the best medical needs of the animals."

The society relies on donations as the sole source of its operating funds.

All five senior officials were released on bail late Thursday night. They are expected to appear in court in January.

Equla,I understand what you are saying,but some of those cats were obviously suffering,there was litter turned in to cement,poop everywhere,that does not happen over night.
The horrible wounds on the cats,there is just no excuse for.

LMPG,I read Bandit was at the vet,since the police pepper-sprayed him:sad:,but I think his days are numbered:sad:

I am sure the OSPCA,will now euthanize all the sick animals,the untreatable ones,which is a good thing,I hope they let the others live

GG,yes,people can be charged with animal-cruelty in Ontario,but the sentences are usually just a slap on the wrist

Thank you for posting that. Now that I am all caught up, I have a few thoughts...

First of all, they keep using the word "volunteer" before Tim Trow's President title. From what I read, it appears he isn't on the payroll???? I may have misunderstood what I was reading, but if he isn't technically being paid, then he shouldn't hold that office. In reality, as the figurehead of the THS, he really should just be carrying out the orders of the board. To me, it sounds like he started out with his heart in the right place, but got skewed in the process.

What really needs to happen is another non-profit taking over. The shelter I volunteer at was originally the city pound... very high-kill (at one point 24 hours!). Since the SPCA took over a few years ago, it is a very different facility. They euthanize AS NEEDED. Meaning, if an animal is suffering, they will euthanize... but that is done in the vet that shares the building. It isn't something the SPCA itself does. They don't staff euthanasea techs.

I understand that the issue here is not euthanizing when needed. That's where you have a private vet that works with the shelter and not for them. That way, you have an objective medical professional that makes the call to euthanize. They don't have to consider over-crowding or shelter politics... the vet just treats each animal like an pet with a home.

Kick Tim Trow to the curb and bring in an actual president. Someone who knows the business, the laws, and can manage efficiently. Get the new president OUT of the day-to-day mundane tasks. Shelter workers naturally don't like the public. We see so much crap that it's hard for us to be friendly to people. That's where you need friendly workers to staff the front lines in the lobby.

HUGE press conference when the shelter is transferred to new management... bring the donations back.

^That literally brought me to tears today...Having volunteered in the kitten nursery with the THS in the past, I can attest to the deplorable conditions that are being brought to light in these investigations. For me, it was incredible to see the drastic transformations that took place in a the span of a few years: from having abundant isolation gowns, syringes, food, and various other necessities for daily feedings, even when the nursery was overflowing, to having to wear garbage bags for isolation and reusing food from a week ago, to having absolutely no supplies whatsoever. I distinctly remember the time when I was told it was ok to feed a 2 week old kitten watered down dog food when nothing else was available. Often times, it wasn't that the food/equipment wasn't available, it was simply stored away at some mysterious location, and no matter how many times the volunteers ask to retrieve it, we'd never see it. For me, "management" at any level seemed to be non-existent, as staff changed constantly, and policies and practices changed literally week to week. This translated to gross inconsistency in the care of the animals.

I feel a sort of vindication that the individuals responsible will finally have a chance to be brought to justice (but probably not as much as we'd hope for), but it saddens me to see the THS as a whole being portrayed in a negative light for the nasty politics. As someone already mentioned in the previous thread, not everyone there is bad. The frontline workers (the volunteers, vet techs, vets, etc) are absolutely heroic in their efforts, often sacrificing their own leisure and sleep, to ensure that no animal goes unfed, untreated, and unchecked. With the approach of the holiday season, I hope the OSPCA can come up with a speedy solution that will ensure that these staff get the adequate support that they deserve and subsequently allow them to care for the animals in the best of their ability.

The more I read,the more I am appalled,this is a HUGE horrible scandal:sad:
The legal fees for those arrested,will be payed by moneys donated to the THS,how can that happen
The money people donate are for the care of the animals and wages I suppose,but legal fees to defend these people

Equla,as far as I know,Tim Trow and the others involved were all paid wages.